


I'll always be here to chase after you

by Anthea_Idolum_Moss (orphan_account)



Series: Gallavich Week 2.0 [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Comforting Ian, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Fluff, Gallavich Week, Hurt Mickey, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Light Angst, Lip is an ass, M/M, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-05
Updated: 2014-07-05
Packaged: 2018-02-07 12:31:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1899129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Anthea_Idolum_Moss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Future fic where Ian and Mickey go back to the Gallagher house to visit and Lip makes Mickey feel insecure about his relationship with Ian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll always be here to chase after you

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Gallavich week 2.0 day 2.

Ian stumbles up the stairs to the apartment that he shares with Mickey. He just finished a closing shift at the bar and he could barely keep his eyes open. He stopped dancing after he had his breakdown but he’s been bartending until he gets his GED. Him and Mickey are good; they got out of the South Side and moved to New York once Ian got his meds straightened out. They were barely scrapping by and they fought like crazy but they always made up afterwards and they were happy more time than they weren’t.

Thanksgiving was coming up and he had promised Fiona that he would show up. He didn’t make it down to Chicago that often so he had only seen them a handful of times since Mickey and him had moved down here a year before. None of them liked the idea of him moving, especially after he was diagnosed as bipolar and at first they had tried to talk him out of it.

Fiona tried to get him to look at apartments and go to job interviews in Chicago so he would have more of a reason to stay. Debbie had tried pouting and Carl had pulled the guilt card saying that Ian still hadn’t taught him how to fight properly. They all gave up after a few weeks once they realized how serious he was about it. After that they had all accepted his leaving even if they weren’t happy about it. The only person who didn’t stop fighting with him about it was Lip. Even after Ian and Mickey had moved to New York, Lip continued to tell Ian what a bad idea moving in with Mickey was. It’s no secret that Lip doesn’t like Mickey but Ian thought that after a while he would come around and see how good he was for Ian, how well they worked together but it never happened.

Ian reached the bedroom and pulled off his clothing, making his way over to the sleeping form of Mickey on the bed. He got in behind Mickey and wrapped his arms around the shorter man; trailing light kisses down his shoulders to the base of his neck. Mickey turned around in his arms and mumbled, “hey man, you couldn’t have showered first? You smell like cheap beer.”

Ian chuckled and nuzzled his forehead under Mickey’s neck, “I missed you too Mick” he said softly in between nibbling the skin under Mickey’s jaw. He looked up at Mickey sighed when he saw his half smile. He didn’t want to ruin Mickey’s good mood but it was now or never. “Fiona called today” Ian started with. Mickey was used to Ian brining up random stuff so he just nodded as he waited for Ian to continue with his thought. “She invited us to thanksgiving, well I say invited when she really made me swear that we would both come. I know that you hate that stuff but it’s only for a weekend and Debbie’s cooking this year so the food should be more edible than usual. I mean we don’t have to got but, I think we should okay?” Ian rushed out then looked up to see that Mickey’s smile was gone but his expression was more irritated than angry so it was a start.

Mickey huffed out a breath “well we don’t really have a choice do we firecrotch?” He felt Ian shake his head from under his chin and Mickey said “whatever, we’ll go but your sister better be making fucking gravy man.”

Mickey was not looking forward to spending thanksgiving at the Gallagher’s. Ian had been full of excitement the whole week at the idea of seeing his family again. It wasn’t like Mickey liked bursting his mood so Mickey didn’t voice any of his complaints. Mickey didn’t really do holidays or family so to say he was out of his comfort zone with the whole thing was putting it lightly. Holiday’s at the Milkovich house were no different than any other day. There were no gifts exchanged, no decorations, and if you didn’t get beaten to death it could be considered a good day. The Gallagher’s were almost the opposite of that. They were still piss poor but they all tried to make holidays enjoyable and they were always memorable if nothing else. Ian had been telling Mickey stories about past holidays all week and Mickey would just nod and comment but never offer up any information himself.

On top of dealing with the weirdness of a family holiday, Mickey was dreading any interactions with Ian’s older brother Lip. Mickey knew that Lip hated him and didn’t think he was good enough for Ian. Hell, Mickey knew he wasn’t good enough for Ian so it wasn’t like he enjoyed being reminded of it every time he saw Lip. Ian and Lip were close though so Mickey swallowed his insecurities all week and before he knew it, they were on the train on their way to the Gallagher family thanksgiving.

The closer they got to Chicago, the quieter Mickey got. It wasn’t like he talked your ear off on a good day but by the time they were at the station, he was only answering Ian in grunts and shrugs. Ian was about to ask him what was wrong when they heard a car honk at them. He looked over to see Lip pull up beside them in a blue pickup that he had never seen before. “Throw your shit in the trunk and hurry up, its fucking cold” Lip said to them before quickly rolling the window back up. Mickey threw their bags in the back as Ian got in the front seat and said hi to his brother.

“Hey man, new truck? How’s college? You do anything to get kicked out yet?” Ian asked as he half hugged his brother.

Lip scoffed at him, “nothing they can prove anyway man and yeah I got the truck from Amanda, she had an extra go figure”, offering Ian a wink. Mickey climbed into the truck at that point and Lip turned around to face him, his look of affection being replaced with one of disapproval “Man you’re still with the thug? I thought you would have hooked up with someone else once you moved out to New York?” Lip said.

Mickey glared at Lip “Ay, fuck off man. I aint no thug anymore, I’m in construction”.

“Oh my apologies man, I didn’t realize you moved so far up in social standing since the last time I saw you.” Lip said with fake sincerity.

Ian rolled his eyes at his brother “Oh shut up man, its not like I’m a suit monkey or anything, I bar tend. Just because you’re in college now doesn’t mean that you can shit on the rest of us”, Ian said only half jokingly. Lip was out of line with his constant criticism of Mickey and it was starting to rub Ian the wrong way.

Lip scoffed and said “Whatever. At least you’re trying to get your GED man, and you tending bars isn’t really your fault. You had ambitions and shit before you got sick. Its different with Mickey he-“

“Ay! I’m sitting right over here asshole. If you want to tell Ian what a low life I am can you at least wait till I cant hear you? Jesus Christ.” Mick interrupted him before he went back to glaring out the window. Ian tried to catch Mickey’s eye, but the other boy was stubbornly refusing to look at him. Ian wanted nothing more than to turn around and tell Mickey that he didn’t think that he was a low life no matter what Lip said. It hurt him that Mickey probably believed whatever crap Lip was spouting. By Mickey’s defensive posture though, he wouldn’t listen to a word Ian had to say so he kept quiet. None of them said much for the rest of the car ride and the atmosphere remained tense.

Its about 1 when they arrive at the house, apparently they are having dinner at around 6 so they have a few hours to get ready. Ian and Lip seem to get over the tense car ride once they pull up to the house and see the rest of their family waiting for them. The Gallagher’s surround them and smother Ian in hugs and holiday wishes. They wish Mickey happy holidays too but they stay away from the hugs, which is just fine by him.

“Hey Ian? You wanna help me with the dessert?” Debbie asks once they’re all in the kitchen. Ian looks at Mickey who is holding their bags by the stairs.

“Yeah man go ahead and do your gay baking shit, I’ll put the stuff away” Mickey says gruffly before heading up the stairs. He didn’t turn around before he saw Ian’s fond eye roll or Lips pointed glare. He decides to try and just ignore Lip so the weekend holiday doesn’t end up having a body count.

Once he has all of their stuff put up in Ian’s old room, he makes his way back down the stairs and leans against the counter as Debbie and Ian chatter around making dessert. Mickey pulls out a cigarette only to have Debbie yell about smoke fumes. Ian laughs and shoves him out the back door to smoke. Mickey gets outside and sees that Lip is already there about half way through a cigarette. Mickey almost turns back around just to avoid Lip but he’s a Milkovich damn it and he doesn’t run from his problems.

Lip glances over at him and neither of them says anything for a few minutes. Mickey almost thinks that standing outside with Lip won’t be so bad until Lip says, “You know that you’re in no way good enough for my brother right?” He says it so casually, as if with each word he isn’t rubbing salt in Mickey’s wounds of insecurity. Mickey doesn’t say anything before Lip continues, “Yeah he may want you around now but can you ever see Ian happy with you around in the future? He’s got his meds straightened out now and he’s getting his GED, he’ll probably go to college and get a decent job. You see where you fit into that? You’ll be the anchor holding him down, the reminder of his past; you’ll be his biggest mistake. It’s better for everyone if you just leave now before he realizes he’s tired of you. You don’t want to be the one who cares too much do you Mickey?” There’s so much truth to his words that Mickey feels sick. It would be so much easier if Lip was spouting lies just to hurt Mickey, but he’s not. Everything Lip is saying is what Mickey has been worried about since him and Ian moved to New York. Ian doesn’t need Mickey, he never really needed Mickey but eventually there will come a point where Ian doesn’t want Mickey either.

Lip glances up at Mickey and says “If you care about my brother, even just a little bit -which by the way I’m still not convinced you do- you will end things now”.

Mickey flicks his smoke down and turns to go inside without saying anything. He has no argument against what Lip said so he just doesn’t say anything. Once he gets into the kitchen he sees everyone in the throws of holiday spirit but instead of making his feel better and included, it just makes him feel sicker to his stomach. He will never have this and never deserve this. It’s not his family, it’s Ian’s and Mickey gets this overwhelming need to not be there anymore. If he stays he’ll do something stupid so its better for everyone if he just leaves.

Ian looks up from where he is stirring dough to Mickey’s stricken face looking around the room. He knows that look, its Mickey’s backed into a corner expression. Ian doesn’t know what caused it but he knows that he has to fix it before Mickey runs. He gets up and goes to grab Mickey’s wrist. Mickey flinches away so violently that it looks like Ian had just hit him instead of reached for his hand.

“Mick” Ian says in a low calm voice “Mickey look at me” Ian continues insistently. Mickey continues to avoid Ian’s gaze and Ian grabs his chin to try and force eye contact. Mickey shoves his chest with both hands and Ian stumbles backwards in shock. At this point, everyone in the room is staring at them but neither Ian or Mickey seems to notice. “Mickey what’s wrong?” Ian asks in the same low, calm voice.

Mickey looks up at Ian with a hard expression and growls, “I’m fucking leaving. I’m so done with this shit.”

Ian takes a step back in shock. “What do you mean you’re leaving? You can’t leave.” _Me, you can’t leave me._ He doesn’t say it but they both hear it anyway.  
Mickey doesn’t say anything just marches up the stairs to the room he’s sharing with Ian a starts packing up his clothing back into the bag he brought it in.  
“You were fine like 10 minutes ago man, what the hell?” Ian asks in a hurt and confused voice.

Mickey scoffs “Well 10 minutes I wasn’t fucking reminded of how bad I am for you.” He continues to throw clothes into his bag as Ian tries to process that.

“Bad for me? What the fuck? Who have you been talking to? You’re like the best thing in my life right now-“ Ian starts to explain but stops when Mickey flinches again. He doesn’t know what he said or how to fix it. He takes a step forward but stops when Mickey moved back so fast he almost falls over the bed. “Mickey just… fuck, just tell me what you’re thinking please. Don’t go without an explanation okay? If you have a good reason just tell me-“

“You want a good reason? Okay fine, I’m leaving because I’m a good thing in your life _right now_ so I either won’t be a good thing later or I wont be in your life at all. I’d rather not be in your life at all if you don’t want me to be, so I’ll save us both the future hurt and just fucking leave now.” Mickey says with his teeth clenched the whole time.

Ian looks shocked and searches Mickey’s face for a hint that he’s bluffing or lying. Once he realizes that Mickey believes all of what he just said, he lets out a shaky breath and says in a strained tone, “Look, I don’t know where all this came from all of a sudden but you have to believe me when I say that you’re good for me Mick. We’ve been through a lot together and since I’ve met you I’ve wanted to be with you and I don’t see that ever changing okay? Yes, I may have future plans, but they _always_ include you. Even when I wanted to get into West Point I would think of ways to make it work so I could still see you.”

“Jesus that’s fucking gay Gallagher” Mickey snorted.

Ian looks into Mickey’s eyes and says, “It doesn’t make it any less true though.”

Mickey looks down at his hands and bites his lip, and he seems to debate with himself, he squares his shoulders and says “you say that you want me now but you’ll change your mind.” Mickey stops Ian before he can protest and says “Its okay… I get it; I’m not much to stick around for no matter how much you like boning me.” his attempt at humour falls flat and he continues “I just… I don’t want to hold you back okay? I don’t want to stop you from doing things you want to do. I don’t want to make you choose between me and other shit. I don’t want to drag you down. It’s best if we just end this now and go on with our separate lives. I mean fuck even Lip thinks so and he’s like the smartest fucker on the south side.” Mickey says, still looking at the ground.

“Lip- fuck what? Lip told you all this?” Ian splutters out in disbelief. “I’m going to fucking kill him. He has no right to pass judgment on you! He doesn’t even fucking know you!” Ian yells, getting angrier at the thought of his brother making Mickey feel worthless. “You’re a fucking idiot you know that? How could you think that I wouldn’t want you? Besides what my brother said, have I ever given you a reason to doubt what we have?” Ian asks Mickey who finally looks at him with a look of self-doubt and nervousness that has Ians heart breaking.

“Fuck man, he’s your brother. And he’s a fucking genius or some shit. I know he hates me and thinks you can do better but he makes some valid points okay?” Mickey says defensively. Then he stops and contemplates his next words. “Look Ian, I’m not going to change. I’m trying but I’m never going to be good with feelings and shit. I’m going to doubt myself and doubt us but I’m going to try okay? If that’s not going to be enough than-“ he was cut off by Ian grabbing his face with both hands and forcefully bringing their lips together.

Before Mickey can deepen the kiss Ian pulled back and whispered against his mouth “you’ll always be enough for me Mick, I don’t need all of that, I just need you”.

Mickey stared into Ian’s eyes, a sense of calm cutting through the last few minutes of panic. He leaned his forehead against Ian’s and closed his eyes. They both stand there holding each other and breathing the other one in. Ian whispers, “just do me a favour and don’t ever listen to my idiot brother again okay? He doesn’t know you and he doesn’t get a say in our relationship, only we do.” They stayed like that for a few minutes before Ian tuggs Mickey towards the bed and they both lay down and just hold one another.

They were both about to nod off when Ian whispers into Mickey’s neck “whenever you feel like running, I’ll always be here to chase after you, okay?”. Mickey nods his head against Ians chest and they fall asleep with their limbs tangled together, feeling like they were exactly where they were meant to be.


End file.
